Metro Express aids commutes but snarls Homestead traffic

Still in its early months, the long-anticipated Metro Express bus rapid transit service has brought a new mode of transportation to Homestead, but not without its own set of challenges that are adding serious traffic delays within the city, according to the city’s top elected officials.

From the system’s launch date on Oct. 27 to Nov. 25, more than 5,300 riders used Metro Express’s bus rapid transit (BRT) each weekday alone along the 20-mile route from Homestead to Dadeland, according to a report from Miami-Dade’s Department of Transportation and Public Works.

As reported by Miami Today, the department will continue to refine signal timing at high-volume intersections and areas being disproportionately impacted to balance bus priority with cross-street traffic operations during its 60- to 90-day optimization phase.

Homestead Mayor Steven Losner called the all-electric buses “a real step up from the traditional buses.” Unlike regular buses, BRT uses dedicated lanes to bypass traffic, has fewer stops and includes amenities beyond the basic features.

“The BRT, or the bus rapid transit, for us, I think it represents much more than just transportation,” Homestead Vice Mayor Jenifer Bailey said. “It’s an opportunity for our residents to be able to get to their jobs, to get to school, as well as different services across Miami-Dade. It definitely has improved in making Homestead more attractive for employers – investors as well.”

Mr. Losner said the unique layout of the roads adjacent to the BRT line in the city has caused traffic congestion along with conflicting perspectives on the new system from the community.

“Right now, there’s still a lot of kinks that the county and the contractor who built it need to work out in terms of synchronizing the signalization at the intersections,” he said. “It has really caused major, major delays and traffic headaches throughout the city. Hey, we’re talking sometimes 10- to 15-minute delays.”

Ms. Bailey said city officials have met with the county’s transportation department team and are working with them to address issues involving traffic signal priority.

“I would say that our residents’ number-one complaint right now is traffic, so we have met with the Department of Transportation and are working closely with them to make sure that they’re aware of all of these issues and we have seen some improvements,” she said. “We are hoping that now it will alleviate some of these issues at these certain intersections.”